Khamenei urges Muslim rulers to identify 'true enemy'

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday urged rulers of Muslim nations to identify what he called the "true enemy," accusing the United States and Israel of orchestrating a sustained campaign to undermine Islamic unity and derail Muslim civilization.

Message to Islamic nations

Speaking in a message broadcast by state-run IRIB to mark Islamic Unity Week, Khamenei delivered an emphatic appeal to leaders across West Asia and the Gulf region. "My emphatic and repeated recommendation to the rulers of Islamic countries, particularly those in West Asia and along the Gulf, is to identify your true enemy, understand its plan and confront it," he said, framing the recognition of hostile external actors as a fundamental prerequisite for achieving regional solidarity and collective security.

Unity among Muslims serves as the essential foundation "for achieving the beloved and dominant Islamic civilization," Khamenei stated — tying collective security directly to religious cohesion and pan-Islamic cooperation. He characterized Washington and Tel Aviv as "the sworn enemies of this unity and friendship," asserting that their opposition extends beyond Tehran to encompass the "entire" Islamic world and its aspirations.

Fragile truce collapses

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have spiked since late February, when the US and Israel launched joint military strikes against Iranian targets, prompting retaliatory attacks on regional states hosting American assets. Iran and Washington signed a ceasefire in April and later finalized a memorandum of understanding in June designed to end hostilities, establish a lasting peace framework, and normalize bilateral relations after months of sporadic fighting.

The agreement unraveled last month, however, as Tehran and Washington exchanged attacks for nearly two weeks before US President Donald Trump abruptly halted the bombardment amid reports of renewed diplomatic contacts. The collapse has cast fresh doubt on prospects for a negotiated settlement to the conflict that has now dragged on for months without a clear resolution mechanism.